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If you’ve been puzzled by the proliferation of ‘net,’ ‘nearly’ and ‘almost ready’ Zero Energy definitions and standards and have wondered just how net or nearly they truly are, take heart. The Passive House Institute (PHI) has introduced an equitable assessment of energy use to help guide us toward the 100% renewable energy future our State—and planet—must rapidly achieve.[continue reading]

It’s no surprise that many of the top-notch students who have participated in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon go on to have successful careers in architecture and engineering. Some become collegiate professors, software engineers, analysts, energy consultants, and much more. We even have a newly elected official among our ranks—Chris Kennedy of the University of Colorado Boulder 2002’s first-place team—who won Colorado’s 23rd ...[continue reading]

The Home Performance Extensible Markup Language (HPXML) Data Dictionary and Transfer Standard have been gaining traction in the residential energy efficiency industry over the last few years as software developers continue to adopt the data standard and new resources are released to the market to help programs integrate the standard into their operations.[continue reading]

For years the HVAC industry has relied on repeat visits to existing customers to generate new business. The service contract model is well tested and used by many because it works. The idea is pretty simple - sell annual service contracts to your customers and then check in on them twice a year to make sure their systems are in top operating condition. Most contractors visit their clients before the heating season and before the ...[continue reading]

The next regularly scheduled Standard Work Specifications (SWS) comment review event will occur on March 19, 2017. This event will be held in conjunction with the HPC National Home Performance Conference and is open to the public. All new comments must be received by January 20, 2017 in order to be reviewed at this meeting. All comments submitted after this date will be reviewed at a later time.[continue reading]

When E4TheFuture decided to explore the health co-benefits of energy efficiency in its November 2016 white paper Occupant Health Benefits of Residential Energy, we had a particular reason for doing so. Our initial focus was to document studies that could help inform cost-effectiveness screening—specifically, to help make the case that important health co-benefits of efficiency exist, and their value is not $0. We were excited to piggyback on a broader research effort undertaken by ...[continue reading]

The whole point of the process described in this series of articles (see Part 1 and Part 2) is that it is now yours. Do what you want with it. Augment it and make it your own. Show others that they are critical to the design process. It is that connection that makes all the difference.[continue reading]

For most American households, a 5-30% savings on energy bills is possible by making home energy upgrades typically identified in a home energy assessment. State and local governments, utilities, and nonprofits across the nation offer programs that allow home owners to upgrade their home to reduce energy use. Through the Better Buildings Home Upgrade Program Accelerator, DOE is working with partners that offer these programs to help increase the number of services offered to homes ...[continue reading]

“Saving” can be defined as setting something aside for use in the future, such as depositing money into a savings account. With electricity, despite widespread claims of saving, only a battery saves energy for use in the future. A consumer isn’t assured anything about future energy bills after installing an “energy saving” product, such as an LED or Energy Star appliance. Since energy is measured through a single meter, ...[continue reading]